Author: Karagyozian Lena

PRESIDENT SARGSYAN ATTENDS CEREMONY OF LAYING FOUNDATION STONE OF ‘SMT’ MEDICAL COMPANY

Panorama.am
15:32 11/05/2010

Health

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan attended Tuesday the ceremony of
laying the foundation stone of the Russian Afina Palada’s "SMT"
Medical Company to develop medical appliances, President’s press
office reported.

The company will produce single-use medical devices. "SMT" will provide
800 workplaces, including 400 at the first stage. The factory will
be supplied with modern appliances. 50 percent of "SMT" production
will be consumed in the domestic market, another 50 percent will be
exported. First production release is scheduled late March, 2011.

BBC PICKS THE BEST LOCAL TALENT FOR LATITUDE 2010

Creative Boom
/10/bbc-picks-the-best-local-talent-for-latitude-2 010/
May 10 2010

SUCCESSFUL Suffolk – born musician Cevanne has this week been picked
as one of three local acts to perform on the BBC Introducing Stage
at Latitude Festival this summer.

Along with local bands ‘The Cads’ and ‘These Ghosts’, Cevanne
will perform on Lake Stage at Henham Park in front of thousands of
festival goers.

When asked if she would like to perform at the festival yesterday on
BBC Radio Suffolk, Cevanne’s reaction was one of shock, excitement and
nerves: "Wow! That would be amazing. That’s a big yes! I’ve been eyeing
up Latitude for a while now – I’ll probably be absolutely terrified. It
will mean a lot to me because it’s local, but BBC Suffolk Introducing
has done so much for me in recent months. No one has got my music
so well."

A grandchild of Armenian refugees and Lancashire coal workers,
Cevanne’s diverse musical tastes certainly reflect her eclectic
background. With influences from a young age that span from Paris to
Scotland and from India to Cuba, Cevanne has used her experiences to
combine beautiful sounds from across the world.

With this in mind, her energetic ‘experimental pop’ debut album ‘Big
Ears’, funded by Arts Council and featuring Zoe Rahman and Kuljit
Bhamra MBE, encourages people to open up to the sounds and cultures
that exist around them.

The local artist, whose talents lie in her singing, instrumentals,
composing and dancing, spent her childhood years in Leiston, Aldeburgh
and Thorpeness and was educated at local state schools.

When asked what visitors to Latitude can expect from her set, Cevanne
said: "Fun! A coconut solo, heavy tunes and a reason to listen. Songs
and dances as atomic as Sizewell B."

For more information on Cevanne’s album ‘BIGEARS’ and for upcoming
gigs, please visit

L’apport des Arméniens lors de la Seconde guerre mondiale

LIVRES

samedi8 mai 2010, par Krikor Amirzayan/armenews

A l’occasion du 65e anniversaire de la fin de la Seconde guerre
mondiale (l’Armistice), l’Académie des sciences d’Arménie a présenté
le 5 mai, le nouveau livre co-signé par l’historien Clément
Haroutiounian et l’économiste Hrant Boghossian intitulé « L’apport du
peuple arménien dans la victoire de la Seconde guerre mondiale
(1941-1945 » (« Hayrénagan Medz Baderazmi haghtanagoup (1941-1945) hay
joghovourti nertroume » en arménien). Le livre contient des centaines
de documents, sur les soldats, responsables politiques ou économiques
Arméniens d’Arménie ou de la diaspora qui ont contribué à la Victoire.

Par ailleurs, l’ouvrage contient une liste complète des maréchaux,
généraux, amiraux ou gradés d’origine arménienne décorés pour leur
héroïsme ou leur action lors de la Seconde guerre mondiale.

Alexander Iskandaryan: Baku’s rhetoric domestic-oriented

May 8, 2010 – 15:06 AMT 10:06 GMT
PanARMENIAN.Net –

Commenting on the Azerbaijani President’s decision not to participate
in the May 8 informal summit of CIS leaders in Moscow, Director of the
Caucasus Institute, political analyst Alexander Iskandaryan said that
not all presidents should necessarily participate in such meetings.

`However, the case with Azerbaijan is specific and mostly explained by
its relations with Armenia,’ Iskandaryan told a PanARMENIAN.Net
reporter.

`Aliyev’s decision is domestic-oriented. Of course, meetings between
the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides are held regular and absence of any
progress in the conflict settlement is not something new over recent
16 years. However, Azerbaijan wants to cover its political propaganda
through some affront in its relations with Russia,’ Iskandaryan said.

‘MINSK GROUP NEGOTIATIONS ARE DEADLOCKED AT THE MOMENT:’ THOMAS DE WALL

Tert.am
16:09 07.05.10

The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group met on May 6 in a closed meeting
to discuss the current state of negotiations between Armenia and
Azerbaijan on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In an e-mail interview
to World Politic Review, Thomas de Waal, senior associate of the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, explains where negotiations
stand today.

WPR: What are the principle issues that still need to be resolved in
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict?

De Waal: The fundamental unresolved issue in the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict is the same one that triggered the conflict back in Soviet
times in the Gorbachev era in February 1988: the status of the disputed
territory of Nagorno-Karabakh itself. The Karabakh Armenians — who
have been in full control of the territory and surrounding regions
since fighting ended between the two sides in 1994 — insist that
Karabakh be recognized either as independent or unified with Armenia,
while the Azerbaijani authorities demand that it is a de jure part
of Azerbaijan and must be reaffirmed as such. The document on the
table attempts to resolve this issue with creative ambiguity about
postponing the issue of status, but the two sides still have polarized
positions and will not move until they get greater clarity supporting
their own stance.

WPR: How is that conflict impacting Turkey-Armenia normalization?

De Waal: The non-resolution of the Karabakh conflict is the principle
reason why the Armenia-Turkey normalization process came to a halt
in April when Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian suspended Armenian
official participation in the process. Turkey was insisting on making
a linkage between Armenia-Turkey normalization and the Karabakh
conflict that was not in the protocols the two sides signed in October
2009. That is not because Turkey cares deeply about the Karabakh issue
as such, but it does care about its relations with its Turkic ally,
Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan did enough to lobby in the Turkish parliament
and to threaten Turkey with higher gas prices to dissuade the Turkish
government from pursuing the normalization policy. Now, unless there
is progress on the Karabakh conflict, it is highly unlikely that the
Armenia-Turkey process will move forward again.

WPR: Recent reports suggested progress has been made in the Minsk
Group negotiations. What’s the likelihood for a breakthrough?

De Waal: Unfortunately the Minsk Group negotiations are deadlocked
at the moment. This time it is the Armenian side that does not want
to engage properly with the latest version of the so-called "Madrid
Principles" under discussion. On previous occasions, Azerbaijan has
pulled back. But there are deeper problems with the negotiations: It is
far too narrow a process to get the kind of traction needed to resolve
a major conflict. There is almost no Track Two process involving the
two societies and few international resources are being expended to
support the U.S., French and Russian mediators. Observers of the peace
talks have the perception that the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents
actually prefer the narrowly based desultory peace process, which
preserves the status quo and produces no results, to a more dynamic
process that would force them to take hard decisions and make public
compromises to the enemy.

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT MOVES TO AVERT TOXIC ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER

Asbarez
Friday, May 7th, 2010

Hazardous chemicals under open skies in waste disposal site in
Nubarashen, Yerevan,

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)-Responding to an outcry and dire warnings from
ecologists, the Armenian authorities have moved to repair a toxic
waste burial site near Yerevan that appears to have been dug up by
unknown intruders several months ago.

The Soviet-era industrial grave located near the city’s southern
Nubarashen suburb contains more than 500 metric tons of DDT and
other poisonous substances that had been used by Armenian chemical
enterprises.

An Armenian journalist and several environmentalists discovered late
last month that unknown individuals had broken into the site, tearing
down its fencing and flattening a mound of land covering the waste with
bulldozers or other heavy machinery. The intrusion, possible reasons
for which are not clear, left the chemicals dangerously exposed.

"The site was deliberately dug up," said Edik Baghdasarian, a
prominent journalist whose Hetq.am publication was the first to
report the emergency. "I still can’t understand who got in, removed
the two-meter layer of land and unearthed those poisonous chemicals."

"Some people intruded the site with heavy trucks, felled the fence and
dug up the site," said Karine Danielian of the environment protection
Association for Sustainable Human Development. "Now poison has come
up to the surface."

"This is a serious environmental disaster," Danielian told RFE/RL’s
Armenian service. She said the toxic substances are being washed away
by rainwater and are threatening to pollute the whole area.

The Armenian Ministry of Environment Protection acknowledged the
gravity of the situation on Thursday. "The site must definitely be
closed up," Anahit Aleksandrian, the head of a ministry department
dealing with toxic waste disposal, told RFE/RL. "There must definitely
be taken under control because the situation is dangerous."

The government approved 31.6 million ($82,000) in emergency funding
for that purpose at a weekly meeting held earlier on Thursday. Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsyan also ordered the ministries of environment,
emergencies and agriculture to jointly devise within the next six
months a plan to destroy the chemicals buried at the Nubarashen site.

He said the destruction process will be costly and require funding
from Armenia’s foreign donors.

Aleksandrian revealed that the ministry discovered the damage caused
to the burial site two months ago, raising more questions about the
authorities’ failure to act earlier. "Local residents have not been
warned about how dangerous that site is and have continued to graze
cattle there," complained Danielian.

Journalist EdiK Baghdasaryan investigates the chemical waste disposal
site in Nubarashen, Yerevan

Baghdasarian likewise accused the Ministry of Environment Protection
and other government agencies of neglect. He argued that they did
not need a government order or funding to cordon off the grave and
issue warnings to residents of Nubarashen and nearby villages.

"Our authorities don’t realize that when it comes to disasters, the
first thing they must do is to warn the population of the dangers,"
said Baghdasarian. "They should have at least told villagers not to
collect hay or graze their cattle there. I’m astonished that they
haven’t done that for two months."

Aleksandrian gave no clear reasons for the belated government
response. She said only that it is wrong to accuse her ministry of
inaction and single it out for blame. "That’s everyone’s problem,
including the ministries of health, agriculture, environment and
emergencies and the [Yerevan] municipality," the official said.

The recently appointed Emergencies Minister Armen Yeritsian
acknowledged "serious shortcomings" in the authorities’ response
to the situation on Friday during an emergency meeting of senior
government officials and representatives of relevant non-governmental
groups. "We should have put up banners warning people to stay away
[from the site,] we should have informed the population," he said,
adding that officials from his ministry did that only on Thursday.

Yeritsian, who served as a deputy chief of the Armenian police
before taking up the current post, also called for the formal launch
of a criminal investigation into the site invasion. Colonel Aghasi
Kirakosian, a senior police official attending the meeting, assured
him that the police are taking "all necessary measures envisaged by
law" to identify and punish the culprits.

For his part, Deputy Health Minister Hayk Darpinian told the meeting
that sanitary inspectors from his ministry have examined the area and
people living in the vicinity over the past ten days. He said they
found high concentrations of DDT in the air and irrigation water used
by three nearby villages.

"This means there is a problem," said Darpinian. "It is aggravated
by the fact that layers of land there are sliding down and spreading
intoxicated soil."

Darpinian assured participants that local residents have reported no
contamination-induced health problems yet. But Yelena Manvelian, who
heads a women’s NGO involved in environment protection, challenged
this assertion, saying that locals have for years complained of
frequent headaches, nausea and other health disorders.

"They don’t know what the problem is," said Manvelian. "They just don’t
feel well. The residents have absolutely not been informed about the
dangers involved. No agency has warned them against using fruit and
vegetables grown in that area. I am surprised by your serenity."

"I’m not underestimating the danger," replied Darpinian. "I’m only
trying to prevent unnecessary panic."

The NGO concerns were echoed by Sergei Kapinos, the head of the Yerevan
office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
also present at the discussion. "The situation got out of control,"
he said. "It’s an emergency situation. It’s a real danger that can
not be presented in mild terms."

VIVACELL-MTS GENERAL MANAGER RALPH YIRIKIAN

Aysor
May 7 2010
Armenia

Armenia’s Minister for Environment Protection Aram Harutyunian has
awarded VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian with a Gold Medal
for his significant contribution to nature protection, a spokesperson
for the Ministry said.

Accepting the Medal, Ralph Yirikian said that to protect the nature,
to plant trees, and other activities for environment protection are
among the duties of VivaCell-MTS.

YEREVAN PRESS CLUB WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

APRIL 30 – MAY 6, 2010

HIGHLIGHTS:

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY IN 2010 DEDICATED TO FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

ARMENIA TODAY COORDINATOR PUTS FORWARD HIS VERSION OF ATTACK ATTEMPTED
AGAINST HIM ONE YEAR AGO

ARMENIAN MEDIA ARE STILL CONSIDERED NOT FREE

JURY OF INTERNATIONAL HRANT DINK AWARD ANNOUNCED SUBMISSION OF NOMINATIONS

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY IN 2010 DEDICATED TO FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

On May 3 the World Press Freedom Day was celebrated in many countries. The
World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed in 1993 by United Nations General
Assembly following a recommendation adopted at the twenty-sixth session of
UNESCO’s General Conference in 1991. In Armenia the tradition to celebrate
the international professional day of journalists was established in 1997.

This year the theme of the World Press Freedom Day was Freedom of
Information. The message of Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, among
other things highlighted the fundamental importance of the right to know for
upholding other basic rights, for furthering transparency, justice and
development: "Hand-in-hand with the complementary notion of freedom of
expression, it underpins democracy."

"Far too many journalists exercise their profession in an environment where
restrictions on information are the norm, where dealing with pressure,
harassment intimidation or even physical assault are all in a day’s work.
Last year UNESCO condemned the killing of 77 journalists. For the most part
these were not war casualties but local reporters covering local stories",
the message of Irina Bokova says. The Director-General of UNESCO invited to
observe a minute of silence for "those whom it is too late to help", "the
journalists who paid with their lives for our right to know". At the same
time, Irina Bokova stressed the significant advances that have been made:
"More and more countries around the world are adopting freedom of
information legislation. This makes it easier to scrutinize government
actions, and it reinforces public accountability." In conclusion Irina
Bokova called upon governments, civil society, the news media and
individuals everywhere to join forces with UNESCO in promoting Freedom of
Information all over the world.

ARMENIA TODAY COORDINATOR PUTS FORWARD HIS VERSION OF ATTACK ATTEMPTED
AGAINST HIM ONE YEAR AGO

On April 30 Argishti Kivirian, Coordinator of Armenia Today news agency,
called a press conference at which he announced that the investigation of
the assault made on him last year was unfruitful. As it has been reported,
on April 30, 2009 at about 5.00, strangers with bats attacked Argishti
Kivirian on the way home from his office which is located in the next
entrance. In a grave condition, with multiple injuries, also on his head,
Argishti Kivirian was taken to hospital. Right after the incident the police
instituted criminal proceedings on Article 117 of the RA Criminal Code –
"Intentional non-grave health injuries", which was strongly criticized by
lawyers, human rights organizations. Particularly, in their opinion,
numerous blows requiring a hospitalization and other circumstances of the
incident cannot be just qualified as "non-grave health injuries". Moreover,
on the photos made by free lance journalist Gagik Shamshian at the site of
the attack, a bloody bat and gun shells could be seen. The photos were
placed on Internet sites on the very day of the incident (later they were
published by the press), but the RA Police report did not say anything about
the detection of shells. Later, the case was transmitted to the
Investigative Department of the RA National Security Service, where it was
requalified to Article 34-104 of the RA Criminal Code, i.e., murder attempt.
On July 11, 2009 the court of general jurisdiction of Kentron and
Nork-Marash communities of Yerevan selected arrest as preventive punishment
in regard to two persons, accused for the murder attempt (see YPC Weekly
Newsletter, July 10-16, 2009).

At the meeting with the journalists Argishti Kivirian expressed his own
version noting that the assault on him could have been ordered by Samvel
Petrosian, Head of the Police of Akhalkalaki (the region of Armenian
populated Samtskhe-Javakheti in Georgia). According to the information
present on the website of Armenia Today on April 30, 2010, the investigation
conducted by the journalist gave ground for such an allegation. In the
opinion of Kivirian, the reason of the assault could have been the extremely
critical articles about the Head of the Akhalkalaki Police. The Coordinator
of Armenia Today also noted that the two men arrested on charges of murder
attempt in July 2009 were released on March 8, 2010. According to Kivirian,
not long before the assault, those two had met with the Head of the
Akhalkalaki Police, moreover, one of them is Samvel Petrosian’s relative.
"Commenting upon the investigation as a whole, Kivirian stressed that the
case will be procrastinated and suppressed after a while", the information
of Armenia Today emphasizes in particular.

ARMENIAN MEDIA ARE STILL CONSIDERED NOT FREE

On April 29 the international human rights organization "Freedom House"
released its annual report on freedom of press in the world in 2009.
"Freedom House" assessed the media situation by assigning a numerical score
from 1 to 100 on the following categories: free (1-30 points), partly free
(31-60 points), not free (61-100) – the lower the score, the higher the
freedom. The latter was defined by three dimensions: legal, political and
economic environments in which media operate. The sum of all three
dimensions yielded the cumulative rating of the media situation in each
country.

Out of 196 countries and territories surveyed in 2009 in 69 (or 35%) media
were recognized free, in 64 (or 33%) – partly free and in 63 (or 32%) were
rated not free. Only 16% or only one of six inhabitants in the world live in
countries that enjoy free press, 44% have a partly free press, and 40% – not
free press. "Freedom House" revealed an overall negative shift in media
freedom worldwide throughout 8 years. The list of 2009 is topped by Finland,
Iceland, Norway and Sweden (10 points each), followed by Denmark (11
points), Belgium and Luxembourg (12 points each).

Of the post-Soviet countries only the press of the three Baltic States is
recognized by "Freedom House" to be free, and only Ukraine (53 points) and
Georgia (59 points) are classed as partly free. Ukraine and Georgia continue
to be in this category for already 6 years. At the same time, the situation
of freedom of expression in both countries has somewhat improved comparing
with 2008 (55 and 60 points, respectively). Other former USSR countries’
media continue to stay not free. Turkmenistan (95) ranks the second from
the end (North Korea closes the list – 99). Also, as compared to 2008, the
rankings of Kazakhstan and Tajikistan have not changed either (78 each). The
situation has somewhat deteriorated in Kyrgyzstan – 73 (versus 72 in 2008),
Azerbaijan – 79 (versus 78), Russia – 81 (versus 80), Belarus – 92 (versus
91). On the contrary the indexes of Uzbekistan – 92 (versus 93) and Moldova
– 65 points (versus 67) have improved a little.

The ranking of Armenia which got 66 points has moved up (versus 68 in 2008).
According to "Freedom House", the improved scores of Moldova and Armenia
"are a result of reduced censorship and restrictions on news coverage". It
should be noted that the Armenian media are considered not free for eight
years on end (since 2002).

JURY OF INTERNATIONAL HRANT DINK AWARD ANNOUNCED SUBMISSION OF NOMINATIONS

The Jury of the International Hrant Dink Award announced the submission of
nominations for 2010 Award. The annual International Hrant Dink Award is
presented to individuals, organizations and groups that work for a free and
just world without discrimination, racism and violence, who take personal
risks for achieving those ideals, who break the stereotypes by giving
inspiration and hope to others. By means of this Award, the Hrant Dink
Foundation aims to remind all those who struggle for these ideals that their
voices are heard and they are not alone.

The winners will be announced on September 15, 2010 – on the birthday of
Hrant Dink, Chief Editor of "Agos" Armenian-Turkish newspaper, who was
killed in Istanbul on January 19, 2007.

The International Hrant Dink Award Jury consists of: author Adalet Agaoglu;
journalists Alper Gormus and Amira Hass (both of them are winners of the
Hrant Dink Award 2009); Boris Navasardian, President of Yerevan Press Club;
Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Member of the European Parliament; journalist Hasan
Cemal; Irene Khan, former Secretary General of Amnesty International;
feminist intellectual Judith Butler; Rakel Dink, President of the Board of
Directors of the Hrant Dink Foundation.

The deadline for nominations for the Award is May 15, 2010.

The nomination form is presented on the website and
can be either uploaded through the website or sent by post:

Hrant Dink Vakfi
Halaskargazi Cad. Sebat Apt. No: 74/1
Osmanbey. Sisli 34371
Istanbul, Turkey

When reprinting or using the information above, reference to the Yerevan
Press Club is required.

You are welcome to send any comment and feedback about the Newsletter to:
[email protected]

Subscription for the Newsletter is free. To subscribe or unsubscribe from
this mailing list, please send a message to: [email protected]

Editor of YPC Newsletter – Elina POGHOSBEKIAN
_____________________________________ _______
Yerevan Press Club
9B, Ghazar Parpetsi str.
0002, Yerevan, Armenia
Tel.: (+ 374 10) 53 00 67; 53 35 41; 53 76 62
Fax: (+374 10) 53 56 61
E-mail: [email protected]
Web Site:

A NEW STUDENT PROCESSION TO THE RA GOVERNMENT

Aysor
May 4 2010
Armenia

On May 6 at 11:30 in front of the central department of the Yerevan
State University will take place a student gathering which will be
followed with a procession to the RA Government.

By this procession the Armenian students protest against the
decision of the RA Government by which the number of the places of
the magistrates and postgraduate for the students who have deferment
of military service has been reduced.

Students from different educational institutions of Armenia,
post-graduates and professors will participate in the procession.

The RA Government is informed about the procession, informs the
initiation group.

NORWEGIAN GSP PRESENTED TO ARMENIAN BUSINESSMEN

ARMENPRESS
MAY 4, 2010
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, MAY 4, ARMENPRESS: Norwegian GSP (Generalized System of
Preferences) has been presented today to the Armenian businessmen
during the seminar in Yerevan. Head of the Economy Ministry’s EU and
International Economic Cooperation Department Varos Simonyan said
today in conversation with the reporters that the works implemented
toward the involvement into the Norwegian GSP system are in their
final phase. According to the initial information, for a month the
system will be available for the Armenian businessmen. It presupposes
reduced or almost zero customs fee.

"Our companies have an opportunity to import products to the
Norwegian market in privileged conditions. Our goal is to make
all the consumption markets available for country’s companies,"
V. Simonyan said.

There are about 11 such systems in the world through which the
developed countries are providing the developing countries privileged
trade conditions for export of products. Armenia is already involved
in 7 out of the 11 systems.

The seminar was organized by the Economy Ministry.